Former President Joe Biden revealed in a New York Times interview that “assistants” were responsible for notifying the autopen manager as to his instructions, even though many weren’t even present when those instructions were given. Instead, he signed off on “standards.”
“Mr. Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people, he and aides confirmed. Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, he signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence,” The New York Times wrote.
Rather than approve each name individually, Biden signed off on categories for large-scale commutations, such as nonviolent drug offenders. Specific names were added by the Bureau of Prisons in line with Biden’s directives, and the autopen was then used to sign final versions of those lists.
Internal White House emails reviewed by The Times detail how Biden’s decisions were discussed and approved in senior staff meetings, with key aides like Chief of Staff Jeffrey Zients and White House Counsel Ed Siskel relaying Biden’s choices to assistants who documented them. Those summaries were reviewed and circulated before Feldman authorized the autopen for each clemency warrant.
Biden pushed back on claims that he was not mentally competent or personally involved in a flurry of last-minute clemency actions during the final weeks of his presidency, and described the parameters he claims his administration laid out for the use of the autopen, a device that replicates his signature. In the interview, Biden defended his use of the autopen for 25 high-profile clemency warrants, while asserting that he personally authorized each decision and dismissed the allegations as desperate smears.
“I made every decision,” Biden claimed in the phone interview. “We’re talking about a whole lot of people.” He accused President Donald Trump and other Republicans of spreading falsehoods. “They’re liars,” he said.
At the center of the controversy is the use of the autopen and the massive scope of the clemency actions: Biden reduced the sentences of nearly 4,000 federal convicts, commuted all but three federal death sentences, and issued pre-emptive pardons to key figures Democrats assumed would become targets of a second Trump administration because of their very public failures and bias, including Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack.
Republicans, led by House Oversight Chair James Comer and Senator Ron Johnson, are investigating whether Biden’s aides used the autopen without his direct involvement, suggesting he may have been mentally impaired or unaware of the decisions being made in his name. President Trump signed an executive order in June directing his administration to probe the use of the autopen and Biden’s mental fitness. The GOP’s focus on Biden’s mental acuity was fueled by his disastrous performance in the June 2024 debate, after which he withdrew from the 2024 presidential race. That followed a seemingly never ending series of gaffes and “senior moments” during his term, which had many questioning the octogenarian’s fitness for office.
81-year-old Biden claimed in the interview with The Times that the clemency actions were deliberated over in meetings where he gave oral approval, which was then documented by aides. Staff Secretary Stefanie Feldman managed the autopen process and only initiated its use after receiving detailed summaries, or “blurbs,” confirming Biden’s verbal instructions.
“I consciously made all those decisions,” Biden said. “Everybody knows how vindictive [Trump] is, so we knew that they’d do what they’re doing now.” Notably, Biden signed only one warrant by hand during that period, the full pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, which Biden previously pledged that he wouldn’t do.
For high-profile cases, Biden claimed to have discussed each one directly with aides. In one instance, he reversed a decision: after initially agreeing to pardon former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, Biden changed his mind the next day, citing that Siegelman was no longer in jeopardy. He added others at the last minute, including Ernest Cromartie II, a former South Carolina city councilman whose pardon was reportedly pushed by Rep. Jim Clyburn. “I agreed with Jim and I pardoned him,” Biden said.
Biden also explained his decision not to commute the sentences of three federal death row inmates convicted of terrorism or hate crimes, saying doing so “would have been a bridge too far.”
The Trump administration, along with House and Senate Republicans, has launched an investigation into the use of the autopen. Emails related to “clemency,” “pardon,” and “commutation” from November 2024 to January 2025 have already been turned over by the National Archives. Congressional Republicans have subpoenaed several former Biden aides and requested interviews with more than a dozen, including Ron Klain, Mike Donilon, and Anita Dunn. Some aides have refused to testify, citing the Fifth Amendment or doctor-patient confidentiality, while others have retained legal representation from major DC firms.
Biden himself has retained new personal legal counsel, hiring Amy Jeffress after parting ways with longtime attorney Bob Bauer. The split, reportedly fueled by disagreements over the handling of public messaging around Hunter Biden’s legal issues, underscores the legal and political stakes of the ongoing investigations.